Robert Siegelhttp://nwpr.org
enNostalgic Cars: Sour Automotive Fruit Of Cuban Embargo Gets New Lifehttp://nwpr.org/post/nostalgic-cars-sour-automotive-fruit-cuban-embargo-gets-new-life
In Havana, Cuba, the old cars that crowd the streets used to symbolize a stagnant nation. Now enterprising Cubans have begun renting cars out to tourists who are hungry for the cars of their youth.<p>During my reporting trip to Havana, I spoke with Julio Alvarez,<a href="http://www.nostalgicarcuba.com/en"> the owner of Nostalgicar in Havana</a>.<p>He joked that one thing Cubans should thank Fidel Castro for is all the old, majestic American cars that are now making him money.<p>You can listen to the story using the player above. <div class="fullattribution">Copyright 2015 NPR.Fri, 27 Mar 2015 22:56:00 +0000Robert Siegel60652 at http://nwpr.orgNostalgic Cars: Sour Automotive Fruit Of Cuban Embargo Gets New LifeA Fraying Promise: Exploring Race And Inequality In Havana http://nwpr.org/post/fraying-promise-exploring-race-and-inequality-havana
Miguel Coyula points at an open door in the middle of Old Havana. The mahogany door looks worn, but still handsome. The concrete facade has lost most of its paint, and time has ripped parts of it open.<p>"That's marble," Coyula says, pointing to the treads of the staircase. "They are the remnants of something that was very glorious."<p>Coyula is an architect and an economist, and as he walks through the streets of Havana, he doesn't just see breathtaking decay.Thu, 26 Mar 2015 20:07:00 +0000Robert Siegel60584 at http://nwpr.orgA Fraying Promise: Exploring Race And Inequality In Havana In Havana, A Journey Into The Forbidden With A Provocative Artisthttp://nwpr.org/post/havana-journey-forbidden-provocative-artist
It was still dark when Tania Bruguera hopped into a cab with us on her way to Revolution Square.<p>"All of a sudden it looks quite subversive what we're doing," she said. Her voice revealed a little nervousness, but it translated into a giddy laughter.<p>The last time Bruguera planned a trip like this, <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/12/31/374158250/cuban-authorities-detain-artist-dissidents-thwarting-performance">Cuban security agents hauled her out of her mother's apartment and put her in jail</a>.Wed, 25 Mar 2015 20:41:00 +0000Robert Siegel60538 at http://nwpr.orgIn Havana, A Journey Into The Forbidden With A Provocative ArtistWith Improved Relations, Are The U.S. And Cuba Ready To Play Ball? http://nwpr.org/post/improved-relations-are-us-and-cuba-ready-play-ball
It has already been a messy game at Havana's Latin American Stadium, the premier baseball stadium in Cuba. The home team, the Industriales, has given up five runs in the first inning; a shortstop fumbled a ball, an outfielder failed to hustle and an easy out became an extra-base hit.<p>The home crowd isn't deterred. The vuvuzelas, those ear-splitting plastic horns, still swell when an opposing batter reaches two strikes.<p>Ismael Sené, a former intelligence agent-turned-baseball historian who was in the stands cheering the Industriales, isn't too worried.Tue, 24 Mar 2015 18:50:00 +0000Robert Siegel60477 at http://nwpr.orgWith Improved Relations, Are The U.S. And Cuba Ready To Play Ball? An Object Of Desire: Hope And Yearning For The Internet In Cuba http://nwpr.org/post/object-desire-hope-and-yearning-internet-cuba
After the sun sets on Havana on weekends, G Street turns into a kind of runway.<p>Blocks of the promenade — which is very colonial with its big, beautiful statues and impeccable topiaries — swell with crowds of young Cubans. For the most part, they just walk up and down, greeting each other with kisses.<p>It's a spectacle: Everyone, it seems, is here to impress. They're perfectly coiffed, perfectly matched; they're splayed on benches, arms wrapped around each other.<p>We stop to talk to Tatiana, 17, and her group of friends.Mon, 23 Mar 2015 16:07:00 +0000Robert Siegel60418 at http://nwpr.orgAn Object Of Desire: Hope And Yearning For The Internet In Cuba For One Parliamentarian, A Stronger Jordan Is Key To Fighting ISIS http://nwpr.org/post/one-parliamentarian-stronger-jordan-key-fighting-isis
There's a election law implemented in 2010 in Jordan known as "one person, one vote" that advocates of reform and democratization there regard, surprisingly, as a big step backward.<p>That's because of the strong ties Jordanians feel to family, clan and tribe, says Omar Razzaz, an economist and banker in Amman, the Jordanian capital.<p>"In 1989 elections, you voted for five candidates. And one of them was your uncle, because you had to, socially, to do it.Thu, 26 Feb 2015 22:38:00 +0000Robert Siegel59316 at http://nwpr.orgFor One Parliamentarian, A Stronger Jordan Is Key To Fighting ISIS Jordan's Fuzzy Definition Of Free Speechhttp://nwpr.org/post/jordans-fuzzy-definition-free-speech
Earlier this month, Jordan's Information Minister Mohammad Al-Momani told a conference that freedom of expression can contribute to stopping radicalization.<p>On the very same day, a military court in the capital Amman sentenced a man to 18 months in prison for a Facebook post that was seen as insulting a friendly country, the United Arab Emirates.<p>Momani spent years studying at Rice University in Houston, so he knows what Americans think of as free expression.Wed, 25 Feb 2015 21:33:00 +0000Robert Siegel59253 at http://nwpr.orgJordan's Fuzzy Definition Of Free SpeechJordan's King Balances Threats Abroad And Critics At Homehttp://nwpr.org/post/jordans-king-balances-threats-abroad-and-critics-home
Jordan's King Abdullah has faced a delicate balancing act ever since he ascended the throne in 1999 following his father's death. His country shares borders with Iraq, Syria and Israel among others, and there always seems to be trouble in the neighborhood.<p>His latest challenge has been to convince Jordanians that it's in the country's interest to play a prominent role in the U.S.-led coalition against the self-declared Islamic State.<p>Many Jordanians were skeptical if not outright opposed.Tue, 24 Feb 2015 21:27:00 +0000Robert Siegel59205 at http://nwpr.orgJordan's King Balances Threats Abroad And Critics At HomeJordan's Army Preps For A Bigger Role Against ISIShttp://nwpr.org/post/jordans-army-preps-bigger-role-against-isis
Jordan's King Abdullah was way out ahead of the people in his support of the war against the self-declared Islamic State, or ISIS. Many Jordanians used to say it was someone else's war even though it's only a 90-minute drive from the capital, Amman, north to the Syrian border.<br /> Mon, 23 Feb 2015 23:01:00 +0000Robert Siegel59160 at http://nwpr.orgJordan's Army Preps For A Bigger Role Against ISISCold Casing: The Mystery Of The Long-Lost Winchester Riflehttp://nwpr.org/post/cold-casing-mystery-long-lost-winchester-rifle
<div class="fullattribution">Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.<img src="http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Cold+Casing%3A+The+Mystery+Of+The+Long-Lost+Winchester+Rifle&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxODE5MTc5MDEyNjM1ODIwODJiZWQyZA004)"/></div><p>Transcript <p>ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: <p>Here's a lost and found story. What we assume was lost more than a hundred years ago was a rifle. Archaeologist Eva Jensen found it during a survey in Nevada's Great Basin National Park.Mon, 19 Jan 2015 21:09:00 +0000Robert Siegel57490 at http://nwpr.org